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If I am HIV positive or have AIDS, how will this affect my immigration status?

The UK, unlike dozens of other countries, has taken a relatively progressive position regarding questions involving immigration and HIV/AIDS. The present position is that being HIV positive should not prevent individuals from being admitted to or remaining in the country, provided that they otherwise qualify under immigration law.

This has some merit, the ban needs to end in the US, but there is one large flaw and one smaller one....

Avoiding spending money in the US as a form of protest is somewhat meaningless when no one will know about it oustide of AMG members.

Second, seeing as the bulk of attendees at AMG (historically, anyways) has been overwhelming from the US (even though 3 of the 5 have been outside the US), one can assume that a large number of US members will be traveling whereever AMG 6 is located. if it's in London, one very big expense would be airfare, and would probably go largely to US airlines.

So, if doing this on principle -- GREAT. If doing this as a form of protest and/or "punishment", I don't think it works.

I'd love to spend some money in London. If I did, it would mean that I was there spending it! Unfortunately, with the current financial situation, I doubt we'll be doing any of that in the near future. In light of all that, we'll be doing our traveling on the cheap right here in the US.

The attendance has been mostly Americans because the event has been in North America, making it mostly convenient for Americans to attend. If the event is held in London, you will see an increase in non-Americans attending. Having said that, the Europe-based attendance in San Francisco was actually pretty significant! That has dropped as the event became more and more US-centric. That's the bit that I refer to as "time for change."

Also, yes it's not about punishment but a matter of principle (why continually ask people to break the law to attend an HIV event). The US economy is what $14 trillion....whether AMG is held there or not won't have much of an impact!

David- Go work them streets, boy! And save up (this time)!!! You can do London for cheap! I think people think it's more expensive than it is. If we can do San Fran, we can do Brighton/London! And tell Bonnie to save up too! I wanna see all three of you guys there.

It's a matter of principle as far as I'm concerned too, and always has been. Cliff and I are both US citizens with US passports, so it's not actually a concern to us personally, but as Americans living abroad with hiv - and being welcomed where we live - I guess we've gained a different perspective. I feel uneasy asking people to break the law to attend an event. I don't subscribe to the "I'm alright, Jack" school of thinking.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts